1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating an optical switch for changing optical paths of optical fibers and an optical switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the current developments in communication systems such as an optical LAN (local area network), an optical switch having a low transfer loss and a high switching rate is urgently required.
A known optical switch comprises a stationary support member, a movable support member, and at least one pair of optical fibers having end surfaces, respectively; one of the optical fibers being supported on the stationary support member and the other of the optical fibers being supported on the movable support member so that the respective one end surfaces of the optical fibers face each other to form an optical path therebetween, and the optical path between the optical fibers is changed by moving the movable support member relative to the stationary support member.
In the fabrication of the above-described optical switch, an end portion of one of the optical fibers is fixed to the stationary support member by an adhesive and the other optical fiber is fixed to the movable support member by an adhesive, so that the end portion of one optical fiber must face the end portion of the other optical fiber and be aligned therewith. In an optical switch having a plurality of pair of optical fibers, for forming and changing a plurality of optical paths, a plurality of optical fibers must be fixed to the stationary and movable support members by an adhesive, respectively, and end portions of each pair of optical fibers must face and be aligned with each other, but the fixing of the optical fibers to the stationary and movable support members so that the end portions of each pair of optical fibers are aligned is difficult.